Share This Story!

Little League signups underway

DEMING - Coming off a banner season in 2016, Deming Little League is registering boys and girls for youth baseball and softball this week. Sign-ups are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 21, through Friday at Peppers Supermarket, 812 E. Florida St.

Join the Conversation

Little League signups underway

Registration for boys and girls at Peppers Supermarket

Buy Photo

Deming Little League closed out a banner season in 2016, sending five teams to the state tournaments scattered throughout the state. Registration for the 2017 summer season is currently underway from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Peppers Supermarket, 812 E. Florida St.(Photo: Headlight File Photo)Buy Photo

DEMING - Coming off a banner season in 2016, Deming Little League is registering boys and girls for youth baseball and softball this week. Sign-ups are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 21, through Friday at Peppers Supermarket, 812 E. Florida St.

Deming Little League had five New Mexico District 7 championship teams that attended the state tournaments scattered throughout the state. The Deming Junior Division All-Stars (ages 13-14) won the state championship and competed at regionals in Waco, TX.

New Mexico District 7 includes teams from Hidalgo, Sierra, Grant and Luna counties.

Newly-appointed league president Jason Carbajal hopes the winning tradition continues, as the summer league usually generate close to 400 ball players. ":We had over 340 players sign up last year and we are hoping to get those kind of numbers this year," Carbajal said.

Registration was held last week at Red Mountain Middle School and only 16 players actually signed up. "We are hoping that having it at Peppers will help bring parents out to register their children," Carbajal said.

The league is designed for boys' baseball and girls' softball. Some girls have made the transition to baseball, under guidelines of Little League Baseball sanctioning. Age divisions for boys and girls are:

• Minor Division, ages 9-10

• Major Division, ages 11-12

• Junior Division, ages 13-14

• Senior Division, ages 15-16

The junior and seniors are combined during the summer season, but all-star selections that are made for the post season district tournaments follow the age demographic per division.

Parents must bring a valid birth certificate to the registration and proof of insurance for each child.

If you are interested in coaching, you must attend a registration session and bring a copy of a valid government issued photo ID.

The cost for registering a player is $50 per child and $25 for each additional sibling from the immediate family.

There will be an additional registration date from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Peppers.

Carbajal stressed the importance of having the early registration period. "It's important for us to get a good count of the players in each age division to determine how many teams we can accommodate and how many coaches we will need," he said. "We would like to hold the player drafts on March 4, and opening day on April 3."